The present invention relates to a system for displaying a home page of the Internet by remote control and also relates to a data transmitter used in the system.
A system for displaying a home page of the Internet utilizing not only a personal computer but a domestic television set (hereinafter called a TV set) owing to the rapid population of the Internet is realized. Such a system is composed of a set-top box (STB) which is terminal equipment connected to the Internet, a remote control transmitter (hereinafter called a remote control) that transmits data to the STB by remote control, a TV monitor connected to the STB that displays a predetermined home page and a card where information to access to the server of the home page is recorded.
In such a system, to view a home page on a TV monitor, first, a card prepared corresponding to a home page to be viewed is inserted into a card slot of the STB. A uniform resource locator (URL) of a specific home page corresponding to the card is recorded in the card and is read by a card reader built in the STB. The STB accesses to a server of URL read from the card via the Internet, acquires the information of the home page from the server and displays it on the TV monitor. When the home page is displayed on the TV monitor, a cursor on the screen can be moved, a desired item can be selected and pages can be switched by transmitting a signal to the STB by remote control.
As connection to a server is enabled and a home page is displayed only by inserting a card to the STB according to the system, a viewer can realize the Internet easily without complex operation.
However, in case a home page currently viewed is to be closed and another home page is to be opened, the conventional type system has a problem that a viewer is required to go to a place where the STB is installed so as to pull a card and to install a card corresponding to a new home page to be viewed and the replacement of cards is troublesome.
There is also a problem that as an item is selected and pages are switched by moving a cursor on the screen by remote control after a home page is displayed, it takes much time for those who are unaccustomed to remote control to operate and wrong operation is performed.
In the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 5-189624 which is prior art, electronic equipment that marks different in a position every type of a card are formed on the surface of a memory card and the type of the card can be discriminated by pressing the surface of a transparent touch panel opposite to the marks when the card is installed is disclosed. However, in the patent application, as means for discriminating the type of a card is merely disclosed and a home page corresponding to a card cannot be displayed by remote control though it is able in this specification, the problems are not solved.
Also, in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 3-120918, an IC card system provided with a communication facility wherein a message is written on a tablet provided to an IC card by an input pen, is sent to another IC card by radio and is displayed on a tablet of the IC card on the receive side is disclosed. However, as in the IC card system in the patent application, a home page corresponding to a card cannot be also displayed by remote control though it is able in this specification, information to be sent is required to be written by an input pen and the operation is troublesome, the problems are not solved.
Therefore, the object of the invention is to enable a desired home page to be easily displayed by remote control without going to a place where terminal equipment is installed in a system that displays a home page of the Internet by remote control.
Another object of the invention is to enable prompt and easy operation such as the selection of an item on a displayed home page.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system which does not require much capacity of a memory on the side of a data transmitter.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system which does not require much capacity of a memory on the side of a card.
Another object of the invention is to enable easier and securer operation for selecting an item on a displayed home page.
The other object of the invention is to enable customizing a data transmitter every installed card to utilize as a data transmitter dedicated to a home page corresponding to a card.
A home page display system according to the invention is provided with terminal equipment connected to the Internet, a data transmitter that transmits data to the terminal equipment by remote control, an information storage medium installed in the data transmitter so that the information storage medium can be detached and a display that displays a home page based upon data which the terminal equipment receives from the data transmitter, and plural marks showing a key control panel are provided on the surface of the information storage medium. Information for specifying a specific home page displayed on the display and information for allocating the plural marks as a key corresponding to the home page are also stored in the information storage medium. In the mean time, the data transmitter is provided with a transparent tablet on which the marks attached to the information storage medium appear as a key control panel. The data transmitter reads information stored in the information storage medium, allocates the marks that appear on the tablet as a key corresponding to a specific home page, transmits the URL address of the specific home page to the terminal equipment and transmits a key code corresponding to an operated key.
According to such a system, as the data transmitter reads information from the information storage medium and transmits the data to the terminal equipment, access to equipment having a URL address corresponding to a card is enabled by replacing cards inserted into the data transmitter. Therefore, a desired home page can be opened only by operation in hand and the trouble of being required to go to the location of the terminal equipment every time cards are to be replaced is solved.
As the marks of the information storage medium that appear on the tablet of the data transmitter are allocated as a key corresponding to a specific home page, correspondence between the displayed contents of a home page and the key control panel of the data transmitter becomes simple and a desired item can be easily selected.
In the invention, for the information storage medium, an IC card on the surface of which marks showing the key control panel are printed can be used. As the IC card includes a memory the capacity of which is by far larger, compared with the capacity of a memory included in a magnetic card, a program for allocating the marks as a key control panel corresponding to a specific home page can be storage in the memory and hereby, a large capacity memory is not required on the side of the data transmitter.
In the invention, in case the memory of the data transmitter can still store data, the program can be also stored corresponding to each card on the side of the data transmitter. In this case, an identification code corresponding to a specific home page is stored in the information storage medium, the data transmitter reads this identification code, reads a program corresponding to the identification code from the memory and the allocation of the key control panel has only to be performed. Hereby, as a program is not required to be stored in the information storage medium, the system can be also composed using a magnetic card the storage capacity of which is small.
Also, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the display mode of the key control panel that appears on the tablet of the data transmitter and the display mode of the key control panel for a home page displayed on the display are the same. Hereby, in case a user wants to select a key displayed on a home page, he/she has only to operate the same key as the key on the tablet of the data transmitter and can select the item on the home page extremely easily and correctly. Also, as a cursor is not required to be moved for selection, even a beginner can operate promptly.
Next, a data transmitter according to the invention is a data transmitter in a remote control system used in the home page display system and is provided with a slot into which an information storage medium is inserted, a transparent tablet on which marks on the surface of the information storage medium inserted into the slot appear as a key control panel and a reader for reading information recorded in the information storage medium. Further, the data transmitter is provided with means for allocating the marks that appear on the tablet as a key control panel corresponding to a specific home page based upon information read by the reader and a transmitter that transmits the URL address of the specific home page and transmits a key code corresponding to an operated key.
As the key control panel is formed on the tablet by the marks of the information storage medium and a key on the key control panel is allocated as a key corresponding to a home page specified by the information storage medium, the data transmitter composed as described above is customized every card and can be utilized for a data transmitter dedicated to a home page corresponding to each card.